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Advice please on our rights and combatting damp
psychopathbabble
Posts: 5,889 Forumite
A friend and I rent a two bedroom ground floor flat, we are due to re-sign the contract for a further six months or give our 2 months notice to leave by this Friday. The flat has electric storage heaters which we don't use, instead we have 3 oil radiators that we plug in as and when we need them. We also have the window open in the kitchen with the door shut when drying washing.
In September we noticed that the flat was starting to smell damp and there was a lot of condensation on the windows. Mould was growing on the windows, the blinds, my chest of drawers and our shoes. We tried our best by opening windows when we got up to clear the air out, as none of our windows have vents.
About 3 weeks ago we reported it to the letting agent who sent the maintenance man round. He couldn't find the cause of it, as at that point there was no sign on damp on the walls, just the smell and excessive condensation. He said he would recommend the landlord get a damp specialist round.
In the last few days, mould has now appeared on the kitchen wall and bathroom wall, and damp is clearly coming through my bedroom wall. Our beds feel damp when we get into them, washing is taking a week to dry and my clothes in the drawers and wardrobe are now beginning to smell of damp. We feel like this is becoming unliveable and with our shift work, it won't be long before we start getting really ill.
I'm wondering what our rights are as tenants and how we can try to combat the condensation and damp. Obviously we can't do much about it coming in through the walls. Also, we can't afford any expensive solutions but then we can't afford for our furniture and clothes to get damaged and having to take time off work because we are ill.
Any advice is much appreciated, I have searched on the forum and found a few ideas but would like to know how far we can push for something to be done.
Edited to add that we moved into the flat in July and there was no sign of damp or condensation so we are also worried about our deposit being kept for the damage it is causing. I emailed the letting agent yesterday to explain we aren't giving our notice or re-signing until a solution is being put into place for the damp, I also attached photos of the damage.
In September we noticed that the flat was starting to smell damp and there was a lot of condensation on the windows. Mould was growing on the windows, the blinds, my chest of drawers and our shoes. We tried our best by opening windows when we got up to clear the air out, as none of our windows have vents.
About 3 weeks ago we reported it to the letting agent who sent the maintenance man round. He couldn't find the cause of it, as at that point there was no sign on damp on the walls, just the smell and excessive condensation. He said he would recommend the landlord get a damp specialist round.
In the last few days, mould has now appeared on the kitchen wall and bathroom wall, and damp is clearly coming through my bedroom wall. Our beds feel damp when we get into them, washing is taking a week to dry and my clothes in the drawers and wardrobe are now beginning to smell of damp. We feel like this is becoming unliveable and with our shift work, it won't be long before we start getting really ill.
I'm wondering what our rights are as tenants and how we can try to combat the condensation and damp. Obviously we can't do much about it coming in through the walls. Also, we can't afford any expensive solutions but then we can't afford for our furniture and clothes to get damaged and having to take time off work because we are ill.
Any advice is much appreciated, I have searched on the forum and found a few ideas but would like to know how far we can push for something to be done.
Edited to add that we moved into the flat in July and there was no sign of damp or condensation so we are also worried about our deposit being kept for the damage it is causing. I emailed the letting agent yesterday to explain we aren't giving our notice or re-signing until a solution is being put into place for the damp, I also attached photos of the damage.
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Comments
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First thing is to find the cause of the damp. This could be a leaking pipe, broken guttering or something structural with the house (breached/failed DPC). Or, as is often the case it could just be from washing, cooking, clothes drying etc.
I'm very surprised that the windows have no trickle vents, are there any air vents in the bedrooms? If there are no vents then I would expect the landlord to be at least partly responsible if the flat does not meet regulations for ventilation.
A good quality dehumidifier will help reduce excess moisture. Excess moisture will allow mould to grow - as you have found out.0 -
Thank you for your response jon.
There are now damp patches coming through the wall just above the skirting board, and a big mouldy patch on the external wall in the kitchen.
The windows in main bedroom and living room are the really old double glazing, so we can't even open them to the second catch bit to help ventilate (im sure you know what i mean!). The living window seals are broken and there is condensation inbetween the two panes of glass, that has been there since we moved in.
I am thinking that the combination of the unsealed windows plus the damp patches I have now found are going to be contributing to it? As much as possible we keep the bathroom window open, and the kitchen window open/door shut when we are cooking or drying washing.
I have now read that I can report it to environmental health, so if we don't get a satisfactory response by the end of the week, when we are supposed to sort the contract out, I am going to contact them. In the meantime, I will take more photos, clean as much as possible, keep the windows on the second catch (those that have it) and the doors shut.
I will invest in a dehumidifier if I can't get one off freecycle or a friend as I really can't afford to buy a decent one... I'm hoping that a mini one will at least help reduce the problem slightly.
I am also now making sure I have written down the dates we contacted them, emailed them etc. Otherwise I will forget and we won't have any evidence if we have problems with our deposit.0 -
Local Council's Environmental Health Officer, not the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency won't be interested in the slightest.British Ex-pat in British Columbia!0 -
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Blimey this sounds like our flat
£2 Savers Club 2011 (putting towards a deposit
) - £5880 -
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Well there's damp in at least three rooms, but bathroom is the worst due to the flat above ours' bathroom leaking three(!) times and water damaging our bathroom. It's going to cost £4K for the insurance company to fix the bathroom, the ceiling and walls are trashed and covered in black mould. And it's taken TEN months of us whinging for them to finally sort it. Not in that much of a rush to report the other rooms...£2 Savers Club 2011 (putting towards a deposit) - £5880
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Well there's damp in at least three rooms, but bathroom is the worst due to the flat above ours' bathroom leaking three(!) times and water damaging our bathroom. It's going to cost £4K for the insurance company to fix the bathroom, the ceiling and walls are trashed and covered in black mould. And it's taken TEN months of us whinging for them to finally sort it. Not in that much of a rush to report the other rooms...
I guess we better start looking for another flat then!! Not good.... I know landlords dont want to pay lots of money to fix things but I bet they would soon sort it out if they had to live in it!!!0 -
If you are going to buy a dehumidifier then get one with an extraction rate of at least 10 litres. There are some cheap micro ones around that only manage about 250ml per day. There is one in argos for around £90, or you should be able to pick one up cheap on ebay. There is some useful info about dehumidifiers on this website which might help you decide which one to get We bought a small unit a few years back to help with drying clothes in the winter, works really well for us as our kitchen is too small for a tumble drier.
The problem with opening windows to get more ventilation is that you also lose the heat and end up with higher energy bills. Are there extractor fans in the kitchen and bathrooms? If not, suggest to your landlord that he has some installed - it will be in his interest as its his property that is being damaged by the damp.0 -
Have a look to see if there's any useful advice in this leaflet
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1125/0011805.pdf
The damp will either be penetrating damp due to poor construction or blocked guttering, rising damp or it will be condensation.0
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